Thermostatic control mechanism



Aug. 6, 1940.

A. CERNYv THERMosTATIo CONTROL MECHANISMv Filed nep 9, 1957 Fla-l' .22 FIG-2 INVENTOR JOSEPH A. CERNY BY M764,

Patented Aug. 6, 1940 2.210.446 'rnnnrflosrarlc coN'raor. Mechanism Joseph A.

cerny, cleveland', ohio, einer up The Titan Valve and Manufacturing Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation ofv ,Ohio

Application December 9, 1937, Serial No. 118,926

Z' Claims. ,(Cl. 236-102) the heated water reservoir to which heat 'issupplied by a burner such as that shown at 'I with a.

.This invention relates to improvements in thermostatic control mechanism.

' 'An object of the present invention is to provide a simple thermostatic control-involving a 5 small number of parts easily assembled.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an operative connection between a thermostatic element and a control member consiste ing of a single lever having operative connections l0 at one end with the controlv member and at its other end with the thermostatic element.

l invention provides in such a control an` arrangement whereby the movement of the thermostatic element is multiplied many times so as to give a l5 quick acting control device.

My invention also provides a. very compact device requiring for its housing, little more than the usual passage for feeding fuel tothe apparatus controlled. In such an arrangement I also 20 provide a thermostatic control mechanism which may be assembled through one of the openings of the fluid pasageway which normally accommodates the iiow of fuel. Such a device will take up very little room in assembled apparatus.

My invention also provides in a thermostatic control device including a lever, a special arrangement of fulcrums controlling lever movement. This arrangement is easily assembled 'for accurate operation and involves a minimum number of cheaply constructed parts. Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the accompanying speciiication and drawing and the essential features will be vsummarized in the claims. 35 In the drawing, Fig. 1 is a sectional view showing two of my improved thermostats assembled in series for producing two different control oper-'- ations in an apparatus with which they are associated; the two thermostats shown embody slightly different forms of my invention; while Fig. 2 is an elevational view of theA lever shown in the uppermost thermostat of Fig. l.

My', improved thermostatic control vmechanism is useful in av great many of thermostatically controlled operations and for purposes of illustration I have shown an arrangement including a.l thermostat 5 of a type which might be used in a is useful as a control member in a safety pilot device in conjunction with a burner diagramvided for heating the water in the water heating apparatus.4 While other parts of the water heating equipment are not shown, it is'well vknown, sa .that the thermostat 5 is generally submerged in water heater or the like, and a thermostat 5 which matically illustrated at "I, such as might be prosafety pilot as shown at I embodyinga safety feature whereby the fuel supply to the pilot `isl turned off by the thermostat 6 in case the pilot is extinguished. In modern forms of water heating apparatus thisl equipment is housed in a more or less decorative cabinet or casing and it desirable that the, thermostat control equipment be incorpreated in the apparatus without too greatly increasing the-bulk thereof. An advan- -tage of the present invention is that the equipment takes up little more room than the usual supply pipes for gas or the like.

While the details of the thermostat construction are immaterial except insofar as they must be' coordinated with other parts of the control mechanism to produce the movementdesired, I

have illustrated similar thermostats at 5 and 6` of a. well known type. In each case the outer tube 5a, 6a is of a material having a relatively large coeillcien't of expansion and the inner rod 5b, 6b a is of material having a relatively small coelcient of expansion so that in each case illus-- trated when the outer tube cools and contracts it moves the rod toward the left, and vice versa as the outer tube is heated it moves the inner rod toward the right.

Referring now to the thermostat shownlat 5, a casing 9 has a fuel inlet opening at III and a fuel outlet opening at II. ings the casing is. provided with a diagonal partition I2 having a port therethrough. I3 which is opened and closed by a valve I4 spring pressed toward closed position by the spring I5. By this arrangement of port I3 and valve Il, iluid flow through casing 9 is in substantially a straight line and it Willbe'noted that the dimensions of the casing arel little if any greater than the pipe I6 which supplies fuel to the burner. The arrangement shown gives a decreased pressure drop through the casing as. compared 'with a valve arranged-at right angles. Also thevalve on the diagonal gives greater movement for lever 22 for a casing of given width. The thermostat rod 5b extends transversely ofcasing 9, entering from one side of the casing near the outlet opening I I. An adjusting rod I'I valso extends transversely of the casing substantially parallel to rod 5b and entering from the opposite s ide of the casing also near the outlet opening, II. The adjusting Intermediate these openprevent fuel leakage. At its outerA end this rod has an adjusting knob 2l which maybe suitvided with a pair` of openings 23 and 24 as best trol.

seen in Fig. 2, 'preferably elongated as there shown to permit the movements later described.

When the apparatus is assembled, rod b passes through opening 23 and the rod I1 through opening 24. Rod 5b carries a collar 25 provided with an annular shoulder 25d and the larger end portion of rod Il forms a collar which is provided with an annular shoulder lla; It will be noted that lever 22 has its lower end bent at anv angle so that the collar 25 at the edge of shoulder 25a provides a sharp fulcrum engaging the right hand surface of lever 22, while the edge of shoulder Ha.` of rod I1 forms a sharp fulcrum engaging the left hand surface of lever 22. These two fulcrums are spaced apart lengthwise of lever 22 and preferably as shown this spacing is very small as compared with the length of lever 22, being substantially an amount no greater than the thickness of the lever, which is of thin sheet metal, so that a turning action of the lever caused by slight relative movement between the fulcrums produces great multiplication of the movement of the free end of lever 22. It results from this vconstruction that very slight movements of the, thermostat rod 5b are translated into relatively large movements of the free end oflever 22, thus causing wide and rapid opening and closing of valve I4 due to thermostatic con- Because of this great multiplication in the lever, the. valve i4 and its port may be small like those used in snap acting devices and need not be large like those generally foimd in direct acting thermostat controls.

It will be obviousV that if no adjustment were desired, the fulcrum at ll might be fixed with respect to casing 9 but such a device would be of very limited commercial usefulness. It will be evident therefore that by turning knob 28 the position of the fulcrum at Ila may be adjusted so as to cause the thermostat rod to open valve i4 at any temperature desired'within the range of the device.

It will be obvious from the description thus far that when tube 5a cools and contracts, rod 5b will move toward the left causing counterclockwise movement of lever 22 about the edge of shoulder Ha' and opening valve I4 against its spring l4a. Likewise upon'heating of tube 5a, rod 5b will move toward the right, allowing spring I4a to close valve I4 and returning lever 22 toward the right. It isthis action of spring i4a which in operation holds lever 22 in engagement with its controlling fulcrum points.

It will be obvious that Athe parts just described are easily assembled through the opening Il. With the thermostat rod 5b in place, lever 22 may be inserted in the casing with rod 5b passing through the opening 23. While the lever is thus held in place, rod l1 may be passed through opening 24 and threaded into the casing at i8' whereupon the parts are completely assembled and after a simple adjustment are ready to operate. The lever 22 is held properly alined with valve I4 by reason of thetwo rods entering the openings 23 and .24. Y

While lever 22 may assume Various forms, it is preferably and cheaply made of a strip of flat thin metal having spring characteristics so that the lever will flex if there is any attempt to force the parts. l Y

The control mechanism in conjunction with thermostat 6 is similar in principle to that just described although differing in detail. Here the casing 28 with its inlet and outlet openings, its diagonal partition 21, valve 28, opening and closing port 29 andvalve spring 28a are similar to the parts already described. Gas from supply tube 3| passes out through the safety pilot tube 8 controlled by'oriflce 30a in the plug 30 which is tightly fitted inside of tube 8. Openings .3| are drilled through the tube and plug to provide air supply tothe pilot flame. It will be understood that tube 3l is connected into pipe IB ahead of casing 9.

Within casing 28 is lever 32 having its upper end engaging valve 28 and having two openingsthrough its lower end through the upper one of which passes the Yadjusting rod 33 and through the lower one of which passes the thermostatic rod 6b. On rod 6b is the collar 34, an edge-of the annular shoulder of which engages the left hand surface of lever 32 at 34a in what is substantially a point contactl Rod 33 has bearings 35 and 36 in two walls of casing 26 respectively. This rod also has a threaded portion 33a engaging a special nut 3l; forming a collar having an annular shoulder, the edge of which forms a fulcrum 38. Since this portion of the nut is square its fulcrum 38 is a sharp shoulder giving substantially a line contact with the right hand surface of lever 32. A depending ange Bla on the nut has an openingthrough which rod 6b passes so as to prevent rotation of nut 31 when adjusting rod 33 is turned. The rod 33 at its outer end has a slot to accommodate a screw driver and the adjustment opening is closed by a plug 39 to prevent gas leakage and to prevent tampering. The distance between fulcrums at 34a and 38 is again very short compared to the length of lever 32 so that slight thermostatic movement is multiplied into much greater valve movement. l

Here' again the parts may be assembled through the outlet opening of casing 28 by placing nut 3l and lever 32v in position on rod Sb and thereafter inserting adjusting rod 33 and finally threading collar 34 onto rod 3b.

The operation of this safety pilot mechanism is as follows: When ythe pilot fuel supply is turned on and the gas or other fuel emanating from tube 8 is lit,A the thermostat tube (ia will be heated causing movement of rod 6b to thev right which will produce counterclockwise movement of lever 32 about the fulcrum at 38. This will open valve 28 against the action of spring 28a and the valve will be held open as long as the pilot remains lighted. If the pilot should be extinguished and tube Sa contracts, rod .3b will move toward the left permitting clockwise movementl of lever 32 as sprlng 28a moves valve 28 to closedposition.

When the apparatus shown in Fig. 1 is assembled in water heating equipment as previously mentioned, casings 9 and 2S will be connected by pipe 40 and valve 28 will be normally open as long as the pilot 8 is lit. Thereafter fuel will be supplied through valve I4.to burner l in response to the requirements of thermostat 5.

While I have described the use of levers 22 and 32 in the simple device disclosed, I may use the same structure in conjunction with 'more complicated mechanism for producing results in addition to those possible with the simple structure. 

